Thursday, December 21, 2006

I just read the scariest headline I never wanted to read. Here’s that headline:

If that isn’t enough to get your undivided attention, then nothing will get your undivided attention. Here’s the gist of the article:

During a speech delivered in the Western Iranian province of Javanroud, Ahmadinejad said: ” The Islamic Republic of Iran is now a nuclear power, thanks to the hard work of the Iranian people and authorities.” The announcement of Iran as a “nuclear power” is bound to significantly escalate tensions between the West and Iran, and marks a dramatic stage in the Islamic Republic’s nuclear campaign.In recent days, the US military has begun to build up forces around the Gulf, in what is being seen as as a warning to Iran. Ahmadinejad was also reported to have announced that “Iranian young scientists reached the zenith of science and technology and gained access to the nuclear fuel cycle without the help of big powers.” The Iranian president began the speech by saying that “the powerful Iranian nation resists bullying powers and will defend its rights, including the right to pursue peaceful nuclear technology,” the IRNA said.

Here’s a newsflash for Sen. Kerry, Justice O’Connor, Rep. Hamilton, SecState James Baker, etc: You can’t negotiate with a nut like that. If ever there was proof of these people’s lack of wisdom, this should suffice. This group didn’t learn Reagan’s lesson of negotiating from a position of strength. They’re just a bunch of ’surrendering realists’ who think that talking endlessly is a solution to every situation. Shame on them for thinking that.

It’s worth reviewing Reagan’s principle on negotiation. The Reagan principle teaches that you don’t negotiate until you scare the daylights out of the people you’re negotiating with. It’s only at that time that they’re willing to make significant, long-lasting concessions. Furthermore, the Reagan Principle teaches us that there shouldn’t be a time when the United States can’t get to the position of superiority to negotiate from.

Gorbachev didn’t make the concessions that he did because of his benevolence. He made them because he knew that Reagan wasn’t someone to be messed with and because Reagan’s policies and actions scared him into making concessions.

Right now, we don’t scare Ahmadinejad. That must stop. IMMEDIATELY. We need to put the fear of God into him. We need to help him feel like Qaddafi felt after Reagan bombed Qaddafi’s home.

In a clear rejection of all diplomatic attempts to prevent Iran from going nuclear, Ahmadinejad added in his speech that “the Iranian nation will continue in its nuclear path powerfully and will celebrate a nuclear victory soon.”

It’s time that we put some serious pressure on Iran with a multi-front, multi-faceted policy that makes them wish they’d never started this escalation.